The act of blocking light from a celestial body, or overshadowing something to make it seem less important or impressive.
From Old French 'eclipse' and Latin 'eclipsis', from Greek 'ekleipsis' meaning 'abandonment' or 'failing', derived from 'ekleipein' (to leave out, fail to appear). The astronomical meaning developed because the sun or moon seemed to 'fail' or disappear from view.
Solar eclipses terrified ancient people because they didn't understand what was happening—some cultures thought a cosmic dragon was eating the sun! The word 'eclipse' literally means 'to fail to appear,' which is exactly what happens when one celestial body blocks another.
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